This invention relates generally to the treatment of aircraft bodies and deals more particularly with a machine which buffs or otherwise treats aircraft bodies having a wide variety of sizes and shapes.
The routine maintenance of both large and small aircraft involves cleaning and otherwise treating the aircraft body from time to time. In addition to general cleaning activity, the aircraft body must sometimes be buffed, waxed, sanded, sandblasted, painted or otherwise treated with finishing materials. Commercial aircraft can be made more appealing by keeping the body clean and otherwise attractive in appearance. The need to treat aircraft bodies in this fashion adds significantly to the maintenance costs and is highly labor intensive because the treatment is normally carried out by relatively highly skilled maintenance workers.
The present invention is directed to an automated aircraft body treatment machine that may be used to buff, sand, apply finishing materials or otherwise treat an aircraft body, regardless of its size. It is a particular feature of the invention that a single worker can operate the machine to treat an entire aircraft body more quickly and in a much more efficient manner than has heretofore been possible. Another important feature of the invention is the ability of the machine to treat surfaces of virtually any size and contour. The machine is further characterized by its ability to reach all parts of the bodies of even the largest commercial and military aircraft.
In accordance with the invention, a main telescopic boom is mounted on a mobile machine which can be positioned as desired relative to the aircraft. The mobile machine can raise and lower the main boom either by extending and retracting a boom assembly on the mobile unit or by moving the main boom up and down on a vertical column carried on the mobile unit. In either event, the main boom can be moved up and down and can be extended and retracted under the control of the operator of the machine.
A rotary boom is mounted on the end of the main boom by a rotary actuator. Carried on the end of the rotary boom is a pivot boom that can be pivoted in opposite directions by either a rotary actuator or a hydraulic cylinder. The pivot boom has a telescopic floating boom extending from it, and the floating boom in turn carries a buffing head on its outer end. The buffing head is provided with one or more power driven buffing devices. The connection between the buffing head and the floating boom provides the buffing head with the ability to pivot about two mutually perpendicular pivot axes. By providing the main boom with the capability of up and down movement as well as extension and retraction, and by providing the rotary and pivot booms, the buffing head can be positioned as desired to buff whatever surface of the airplane is to be treated, and the buffing head can be oriented properly to provide effective buffing action against the surface.
In addition, the control system for the machine is specially arranged to allow the buffing head to automatically follow contoured surfaces, to automatically take corrective action if the buffing head is unduly tilted about either of its pivot axes, and to automatically shut down the machine if an obstacle is encountered by the buffing head. The control system includes limit switches which sense limiting positions of the various booms and other machine components and which provide control signals when limiting positions are reached.